Being Boys

Beautiful late summer evenings mean time to play outdoors as the sun starts to set.  At the age of 2 Dad is just as good as an entire amusement park.  There is something absolutely magic about the giggles of a little boy twirling through the air, holding your hands and grinning with delight.

Grandma Kathy Visits

Erin headed off to her second (and last) long residency at University of Michigan and so Grandma Kathy came out to help with the kids.  We all had a great time together while Erin was gone!  Kathy took the kids to the pool lots, the zoo, and we even got out for a Jeep trip and up to Estes Park one day.
Kathy and Xander had lots of fun in the pool.  Xander's swimming progressed so much while she was here. She reported on new and amazing developmens with his swiming what felt like every day!

It was a crazy busy time and I'm afraid that there are not many photos to post.  Somehow in the eleven days that Kathy was here we barely picked up the camera.  I also think that Kathy has an almost supernatural power to disappear when the camera comes out...  She is the invisible person holding Maya out the window of the Jeep in the shot below.

Highlight of the Jeep trip was Kathy driving through the deep water crossing. I think we sprayed water over the roof of the jeep!  Here's a video of some other folks going through the water crossing, we had way more fun!!

-Jake

Boulder Ironman 70.3

I've been training this summer for the Boulder Ironman 70.3, that's a half ironman distance.  I did my first half ironman last year and my goal for this year was to really improve my swim and take a little off my total time.  I really was using it to prepare for a full ironman next year and know that my swim is the area that needs the most work.  Things just didn't come together as hoped.  My swimming hasn't progressed the way I've wanted.  I'm just not figuring it out yet.  I had hoped that I could shave maybe 10 to 15 minutes off my swim time.  By the time race day came around I knew that wasn't realistic but I still was pretty confident that I could get at least 5 minutes better than last year.

I started the swim off well and felt strong through the swim.  I got out of the water and found that I'd only bested my time last year by 1 minute.  I was really bummed.  My bike went well and I did as well as last year.  This run was brutal.  I was in the very last wave of swimmers and didn't start until an hour and fifteen minutes after the first wave. Not starting until so late meant that it was really hot, over 95 degrees, on the run and by afternoon the wind picked up, ther.e were white caps on the boulder resevoir.  All in all I ended up 5 minutes slower than last year.  It wasn't what I was hoping for, but I know that I put everything out there.

I'm planning to focus on running this fall.  I want to run a sub 3 hr marathon and feel that it is a goal well within reach.  I ran a 3:02 a few years ago.  Running probably isn't what I should be focused on right now, I should be swimming lots instead, but it is what I enjoy most.  Right now the idea of getting up at 5 AM and running for a few hours each morning in the dark and cold sounds pretty theraputic.  Let's see if I'm still saying that in January...

-Jake

Xander and Maya

Maya is growing up so quickly, she can roll around and reach for things and manages to scoot around well enough that we rarely find her where we left here these days.  For Xander, all this means is that she is starting to become interesting!  Xander has always liked baby sister, and often wants to hold her and worries about her when she cries (Maya's hungry daddy!), but he is now starting to genuinely play with her.

Of course, now that Maya is starting to eat solid foods Xander is eager to get in on the action too!  Xander doesn't always have the sense of urgency that Maya has about her dinner though, so sometimes that leads to a bit of conflict.  Xander also worries a lot about Maya getting messy and fastidiously cleans her up as she tries to eat.  Maya on the other hand doesn't worry about this a bit, and is a tad impatient with being wiped off when she could be eating instead.

It is so much fun to see these two interacting.  Xander has such a big heart and and is a great big brother to sister Maya.

Maya's First Solid Food

Maya has been eyeing our meals for a while now, as if saying, "Hey, I'd like some of that!".  She even reaches out and tries to steal the fork out of our hands.  So, we finally figured that she was ready to try some cereal.

Rice cereal is a total hit!  Maya seemed to enjoy the entire experience and loved to grab the spoon out of our hands and suck on it.  I forgot how much fun it is to feed a baby, and also how much of a mess they make.  Soon enough I'm sure she will be feeding herself, the mess however will probably be with us for a while!